Photo shoot puts local businesses in focus

A photo from the Autumn themed wedding inspiration photoshoot produced by Calderdale businesses. Picture by Happily Ever Captured Photography.

Published:14:30Wednesday 14 January 2015

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A dozen local businesses across Calderdale joined forces to produce a day-long photo-shoot to raise awareness of their companies.

The pictures were produced at the Artworks gallery in Halifax by photographer Georgia Nolan, who owns Happily Ever Captured Photography.

She said: “The initial idea began after talking with Claire Bush, who runs her cake business Sweet Sugar Sixpence from home in Manor Heath. We were both keen to bring in as much local talent as we could to feature our products and services in a unique way.

“This is my third year in business and I’ve only been doing weddings for a year-and-a-half but it’s just gone off the scale. I’ve booked in more than 60 weddings in the last year.

“We were very interested in creating something to show couples that a locally sourced and budget friendly wedding is possible.

Georgia said there are many new creative businesses in the area that have successfully gone from a part-time hobby to a full-time profitable business.

“We featured beautiful bespoke jewellery from Hello Halfpenny, which is run by Zoe James from Savile Park, who reduced her day job as an art teacher to a part-time position to accommodate for the growth of her business.

“Another was Eve and Ellis, who provided the beautiful wedding dress.

“We’re hoping to get the images into wedding magazines and blogs to spread the word about us.”

Georgia said starting a new business can be rewarding but challenging.

“You’ve got to work hard, it’s not easy,” she added.

“If you have a unique idea or skill, or want to teach yourself something that allows you to turn it into a business, then there’s plenty of room for new ideas in Halifax.

“People are reacting very positively to small business start-ups, with lots of support shown through social media as the modern word of mouth.

“There are so many resources online to keep your skills up to date; with the right passion you can teach yourself anything.

“You need to stay determined and not give up at the first sign of difficulty.”